1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a performance analysis system for a network and more specifically to a system and method for generating network operating statistics based on monitoring of network messages.
2. Description of the Background of the Invention
A current trend in the computer industry is the use of individual workstations interconnected to other workstations using local area networks. Such networks can adopt various configurations and support many types of functions. Some networks are configured with a file server, which is capable of supporting multiple workstations, while others are configured to support communications between a workstation and a mainframe computer. In the latter case, individual workstations may appear to be terminals on the network as viewed by the mainframe computer, communicating over the network using protocols compatible with that of the mainframe. One such network communications protocol is known as Systems Network Architecture ("SNA").
The efficient operation of a SNA network is critical both in terms of mainframe computer efficiency and individual workstation productivity. The ability to measure network response times associated with the workstations and the ability to determine bottlenecks or other network inefficiencies which may detract from network response time is becoming increasingly important. There are several computer programs which have the ability to measure end-to-end response time for particular message sequences, and other programs which are able to monitor network loading and utilization. However, there are no systems which can non-destructively monitor SNA network messages, analyze those messages to determine the role of each station on the network, and compute network operating statistics therefrom. Accordingly, the need exists for a product that is able to monitor all communications on an SNA network, determine the role of the station on the network, and derive operating statistics for that network, such operating statistics being useful in determining poor network performance and isolating the cause thereof.